It’s Time to Take Arctic Drilling Off the Table
Cindy Shogan Executive director, Alaska Wilderness League: 4 April 2015
It’s Time to Take Arctic Drilling Off the Table
Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of the Interior swung the door wide open to drilling in the remote waters of the iconic Arctic Ocean when it announced that it was reaffirming controversial Bush-era leases for the Chukchi Sea – a lease sale referred to as Lease Sale 193.
The history of Lease Sale 193 dates back seven years – in 2008, the Bush administration offered nearly 30 million acres of remote and poorly understood ocean to oil companies despite widely acknowledged gaps in scientific information and a complete lack of proven response technologies for the harsh and unforgiving Arctic Ocean conditions. Shell purchased the majority of the leases, and ever since, a coalition of groups that includes Alaska Wilderness League has fought Lease Sale 193 in the courts.
The TRUTH will set you FREE.